Bienvenido
Joshua Searle: Bienvenido
6 September – 16 November 2025
In Spanish, bienvenido means 'welcome', a greeting that in this context signifies a personal arrival, sense of belonging and return.
Bienvenido captures a pivotal moment in emerging artist Joshua Searle's life: a journey to his maternal homeland, Colombia, supported by the Mason Family Trust Fellowship.
Meeting extended family and walking the streets of his ancestral home, long-held cultural connections were transformed.
During his fellowship, Searle conducted research into Indigenous goldsmithing and ceramic sculptural practices through museum collections across Colombia, whilst visiting archaeological sites and interacting with cultural practitioners. At Bogotá's Museo del Oro and Museo Arqueológico, Searle studied cultural artefacts previously only encountered through texts-an experience that marks a significant evolution in his practice.
In a new large-scale ceramic work El sudor del sol The sweat of the sun), commissioned by MPRG, language becomes a central motif, mixing everyday Colombian expressions with intimate phrases. The title draws on an Indigenous belief that gold was the 'sweat' of the sun, the work's reflective surface mirroring the material, rich with spiritual meaning, symbolising balance and divine connection.
Bienvenido invites viewers to walk alongside Searle-sharing in the celebration of his journey home.